IRGC Denies Any Iranian Position In Syria Were Hit In Recent Israeli Air Strike

August 25, 2019 Latest News 1,423 Views

Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes in Syria to thwart a planned attack on Israel by Iran-backed fighters using armed drones, the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday night. See Details: Israeli Air force Jets Strikes Syria To Thwart Major Iranian Drone Attack

A top Revolutionary Guards commander denied Israeli claims that Iranian targets were hit in an IDF airstrike in Syria, asserting that the Jewish state lacked the power to carry out such attacks.

No Iranian positions around Damascus were struck in the recent Israeli attack on the Syrian capital, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaee, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) on August 25.

“This is a lie and not true … Israel and the United States do not have the power to attack Iran’s various centers, and our (military) advisory centers have not been harmed,” the semi-official news agency quoted the IRGC commander as saying.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor appeared to contradict Iran’s denial, saying an Iranian combatant and two fighters for the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah were among the fatalities in the strike.

“The Israeli raids targeting Iranian and Hezbollah posts… in the southeast of Damascus killed at least three people — two from Hezbollah and a third who was Iranian,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Late Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces made a rare announcement acknowledging it had carried out the attack in Syria against Iranian forces and Shiite militia members, who it said has been been working on a plan to fly explosives-laden “killer drones” into Israel.

In a statement issued just minutes after the Israeli army announced its attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the military’s “major operational effort” in thwarting the attack planned by “the Iranian Quds force and Shiite militias.”

“Iran has no immunity anywhere,” Netanyahu said. “Our forces operate in every sector against the Iranian aggression. I have directed that our forces be prepared for any scenario. We will continue to take determined and responsible action against Iran and its proxies for the security of Israel.”

“This is a lie and not true,” Mohsen Rezaei, who is also secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, a powerful state body, told the semi-official ILNA news agency on Sunday, according to the Reuters new agency.

“Israel and the United States do not have the power to attack Iran’s various centers, and our [military] advisory centers have not been harmed,” Rezaei added.

The late-night airstrike, which triggered Syrian anti-aircraft fire, appeared to be one of the most intense attacks by Israeli forces on Iranian targets in Syria.